For a number of years, articles of footwear and various items of clothing have been sold with decorative arrays of light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs). This has been particularly popular in children's shoes where the LEDs are arranged to complement other design elements of the shoe such as cartoon characters and the like.
In a typical design of an article of clothing or footwear of the type noted above, a light module is provided including a plastic housing mounted at some location on or in the article. The module contains a battery, a switch and a controller which is connected by wires to LEDs located externally of the housing and positioned at desired locations on the footwear or garment. The integrated circuit is activated by the switch, and in many designs the switch is not operated manually but is turned on and off in response to the application of an inertial force, pressure or motion.
Articles of clothing such as shirts, pants, coats and the like made of cotton, wool or other cloth materials must be periodically laundered, and that has presented an issue with lighting systems of the type discussed above. Although the battery, switch and integrated circuit are encased within the housing of the light module and typically sealed from exposure to water, the LEDs and connecting wires are located externally of the housing and may be subject to damage from laundering.
One approach to addressing the problem of protecting electrical components in lighting systems for clothing from water damage during laundering is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,278,758 and 7,267,452. These patents teach enclosing all of the electrical components, including the battery, switch, controller and light sources such as LEDs, within a plastic casing. That casing is sealed within an envelope, preferably formed of two sections of plastic material. The envelope, in turn, is mounted within a compartment formed by an overlay which is heat-sealed to the garment. While providing protection for electrical components, the lighting system of these patents is limited in the decorative effects that can be achieved because all of the LEDs or other light sources must be clustered in the same location as the other electrical components within the plastic casing.